Spaceflight Daily Report, Thursday 15th October 2026

CRS-35 approaches the ISS. Image credit: NASA.

Arrival of CRS-35

The SpaceX CRS-35 mission, which launched on Tuesday, arrived at the International Space Station today and docked with the zenith port of the Harmony module at 1427 UTC. Anil Menon (MS-29, NASA) and Joshua Kutryk (Crew-13, CSA) monitored the spacecraft's approach from inside the station. The Cargo Dragon being used for the mission is C211, on its 4th flight, which was previously used for CRS-26, 29, and 33. The 2867 kg of cargo includes a fourth pair of iROSA roll-out solar arrays to supplement the station's ageing power supply, which will be installed during two upcoming spacewalks. CRS-35 will remain docked to the station for a few weeks and is expected to return to Earth in mid-November. Its return cargo will include one of the station's spacesuits, which will be refurbished on Earth then sent back up on a future mission. [Source: NASA]

Launch of USSF-481

At time of writing, this mission had not launched. The following text is a placeholder assuming a successful launch, which may contain inaccurate information. It will be updated tomorrow morning.

PLACEHOLDER: SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg in California at 2357 UTC, or 1657 local time (PDT). This was carrying USSF-481, a classified mission for the United States Space Force, likely to be a batch of military communications satellites. More information about the number of satellites launched should become available in the coming days. This was the 697th flight of the Falcon 9, and the 28th flight of booster B1081, which successfully landed on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. [Source: SpaceX]

ION SCV Deployments

The United States Space Force are tracking five new Earth observation satellites in orbit belonging to American company Planet Labs, designated Flock 4J-1 through 5. These were launched as part of the Transporter-18 rideshare mission earlier this month and deployed recently, possibly by one of Italian company D-Orbit's ION satellite carrier vehicles. Additionally, D-Orbit announced today that ION SCV Alluring Alexander yesterday deployed MOI-1A, a computing satellite operated by the Indian company TakeMe2Space. [Source: Space-Track.org, D-Orbit]

Other notes

• The launch of a Ceres 1S has been scheduled for no earlier than 21st October. [Source: Next Spaceflight]
• The launch of a Long March 8A has been scheduled for no earlier than 22nd October. [Source: Next Spaceflight]
• The launch of a Long March 4B has been scheduled for no earlier than 23rd October. [Source: Next Spaceflight]
• The UK Space Agency have selected Swiss company ClearSpace to build and operate the UK Active Debris Removal mission, aiming to launch in 2029. [Source: ClearSpace]
• NASA's analysis of the Artemis II heat shield confirms it performed much better than during Artemis I, and that the design should be safe to use for future missions. [Source: NASA]

Spaceflight Daily Report, Wednesday 14th October 2026

Zhuque 2E lifts off. Image credit: Landspace.

Launch of Zhuque 2E Rideshare

LandSpace launched a Zhuque 2E Block 2 from Jiuquan in Gansu at 1140 UTC, or 1940 local time (CST). This was a rideshare mission carrying ten satellites to Sun-synchronous orbit. Eight of them were computing satellites for the Three-Body constellation operated by ADA Space (Guoxing), designated XSD-39 and XSD-44 through 50. The other two were laser communications test satellites developed by LandTower (Lanta Zhineng), a subsidiary of LandSpace, designated LT-03 and 04. This was the 10th flight of Zhuque 2. [Source: LandSpace]

International Space Station Activities

The crew of the International Space Station is preparing for tomorrow's arrival of the SpaceX CRS-35 cargo resupply mission, which launched yesterday. Anil Menon and Joshua Kutryk will be on duty to monitor the approach and docking of the Cargo Dragon spacecraft. Today Menon transferred Earth observation hardware between modules and Kutryk cleaned some science racks. Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney began preparing a spacesuit for its return to Earth on CRS-35 for refurbishment. Meanwhile in the Russian segment, Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina continued testing the Teledroid controller, and Sergey Tetryatnikov updated the software that controls the European Robotic Arm. [Source: NASA]

NASA also announced today that they have scheduled two spacewalks to install the two new International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays (IROSA) being delivered by CRS-35. Anil Menon and Joshua Kutryk will head outside on 29th October and 5th November 2026, and install one IROSA on each spacewalk. [Source: NASA]

Other notes

• The debut flight of Rocket Lab's reusable Neutron rocket has officially slipped to no earlier than 2027 following discovery of a defect in one of its components. [Source: Rocket Lab]
• The launch of Starlink Group 15-16 aboard a Falcon 9 has been scheduled for no earlier than 24th October. [Source: SpaceX]
• The launch of Amazon Leo LE-04 aboard an Ariane 6 has been scheduled for no earlier than 23rd November. Arianespace have reportedly resolved an issue they were having with one of the rocket's turbopumps. [Source: Amazon]

Spaceflight Daily Report, Tuesday 13th October 2026

CRS-35 lifts off. Image credit: SpaceX.

Launch of Starlink Group 15-25

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg in California at 0028 UTC, or 1728 Monday afternoon local time (PDT). This was carrying Starlink Group 15-25, the latest batch of 27 Starlink v2-mini satellites for the constellation. It was the 695th flight of the Falcon 9, and the 20th flight of booster B1088, which successfully landed on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. [Source: SpaceX]

Launch of SpaceX CRS-35

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral in Florida at 1033 UTC, or 0633 local time (EDT). This was carrying SpaceX CRS-35, a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. The Cargo Dragon being used for the mission is C211, on its 4th flight, which was previously used for CRS-26, 29, and 33. The 2867 kg of cargo includes a fourth pair of iROSA roll-out solar arrays to supplement the station's ageing power supply, which will be installed during a future spacewalk, as well as a new toilet. CRS-35 is expected to dock with the zenith port of the Harmony module on Thursday, and will remain at the station for a few weeks before returning to Earth. This was the 696th flight of the Falcon 9, and the 8th flight of booster B1096, which performed a boostback burn and successfully landed at Cape Canaveral's Landing Zone 40. [Source: SpaceX, NASA]

International Space Station Activities

The crew of the International Space Station performed routine research and maintenance while they wait for the arrival of CRS-35. Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina practised with the Teledroid controller. Jessica Watkins serviced 3D printing hardware and the Astrobee robot. Luke Delaney serviced a spacesuit jetpack and set up an ultrasound scanner for remote servicing by engineers on the ground. Anil Menon and Joshua Kutryk cleaned and inspected a science freezer. Watkins, Delaney, and Menon also underwent eye checks. Sergey Teteryatnikov cleaned smoke detectors. [Source: NASA]

(Missed) Missile Tests

In addition to last week's French missile test, there have been two other missile tests in recent days which reached heights great enough to qualify as suborbital spaceflights:

• On 2nd October, North Korea launched at least one ballistic missile from Wonsan towards the Sea of Japan at 2136 UTC, or 0636 local time (KST). It achieved a maximum altitude of around 90 km. [Source: Japanese Ministry of Defense]
• On the morning of 9th October, the United States Air Force launched a Minotaur I missile from Vandenberg in California. It was carrying an unarmed Mk21A re-entry vehicle. [Source: Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center]
• Two missiles launched by North Korea on 12th October probably did not exceed an altitute of 80 km, so won't be counted as spaceflights in this month's statistics. [Source: Japanese Ministry of Defense]

(Missed) Deployment of Payloads from OSSIE

OSSIE, a space tug operated by Spanish company UARX Space which launched on SpaceX Transporter-18, deployed three payloads on 2nd October; HADES-L and UNNE-1B for AMSAT Spain, and ERMINAZ-2U for AMSAT Germany. All three are amateur radio satellites. [Source: Jonathan McDowell's GCAT]

Other notes

• Voyager Technology's Griffin-1 lander has completed several critical tests. Next, it will be integrated with Astrolab's FLIP rover and prepared for launch later this year under the mission designation Moon Base I. [Source: NASA]
• Astronaut Christina Koch has taken on the role of NASA's deputy chief engineer. With this promotion, none of the Artemis II crew remain on the roster for future missions; Jeremy Hansen left the CSA in July, and Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover became emeriti in September. [Source: NASA]
• NASA have completed stacking for the boosters of the SLS rocket aiming to launch the Artemis III mission next year. There is still a great deal more work to be done before the rocket is ready for launch. [Source: NASA]

Spaceflight Daily Report, Monday 12th October 2026

Path of Perseverance. Image credit: NASA.

There were no major events today.

Other notes

• NASA's Perseverance Mars rover has set an off-world driving distance record, surpassing the 45 km record previously held by Opportunity. [Source: NASA]
• The astronauts aboard the International Space Station had the day off for the US Columbus Day federal holiday, which also meant there was no daily blog post from NASA.
• Rocket Lab have announced names and target dates for their next three Electron missions. [Source: Rocket Lab]

Spaceflight Daily Report, Sunday 11th October 2026

Taikonauts aboard Tiangong. Image credit: CMSA.

Tiangong Activities

The CMSA published their weekly video on the activities of the taikonauts aboard the Tiangong space station. Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan, and Lai Ka-Ying replaced experiment samples, trained for rendezvous and docking procedures, serviced life support systems, and carried out routine exercise and cleaning. [Source: CMSA]

Starship Flight 15 Updates

During a speech at a Tesla Owners event yesterday, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gave some updates on Starship Flight 15. As usual he downplayed the engine failures of the previous flight, then stated that Flight 15 will feature a catch attempt of the rocket's upper stage. If this is successful, Flight 16 would then aim to achieve the first ever reflight of a full orbital rocket stack. Musk estimated Flight 15 will take place in mid to late November. [Source: Elon Musk]

Ship 40, which unexpectedly survived its splashdown after Starship Flight 13, is back at Starbase Texas after an 11-week journey from the Indian Ocean. [Source: NSF]

Spaceflight Daily Report, Saturday 10th October 2026

Falcon launch. Image credit: SpaceX.

Launch of Tranche 1 Transport Layer A

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg in California at 0739 UTC, or 0039 local time (PDT), delayed multiple times from its initial launch window on Monday. It was carrying Tranche 1 Transport Layer A, the 4th batch of 21 military communication satellites for the United States Space Force's Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) Tranche 1 Transport Layer constellation, manufactured by Northrop Grumman. This was the 694th flight of the Falcon 9, and the 6th flight of booster B1103, which performed a boostback burn and successfully landed at Vandenberg's Landing Zone 4. [Source: SpaceX]

Spaceflight Daily Report, Friday 9th October 2026

NG-24 departs the ISS. Image credit: NASA.

Launch of SatNet LEO Group 27

SAST, a subsidiary of China Aerospace (CASC), launched a Long March 12 (Chang Zheng 12) from Wenchang in Hainan at 1927 UTC, or 0327 Saturday morning local time (CST). This was carrying SatNet LEO (Guowang) Group 27, the latest batch of nine satellites for China SatNet's internet constellation. This was the 9th flight of the Long March 12, which is settling into a monthly launch cadence, and the 11th flight of the Long March 12 family. [Source: SAST]

Departure of Cygnus NG-24

Northrop Grumman's Cygnus XL S.S. Steven R. Nagel spacecraft, serving the NG-24 cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station, was unberthed from the nadir port of the station's Unity module at 1644 UTC with the help of the Canadarm2 robotic arm. It has spent six months berthed to the station. It is scheduled to de-orbit and be destroyed in the atmosphere on Monday. As well as waste from the station, it is carrying twelve small re-entry capsules each with experimental heat shields to test new designs and materials. [Source: NASA]

NASA Formally Requests Proposals for Private Space Stations

NASA have issued a final request for proposals for "low Earth orbit destinations" for American astronauts following the decommissioning of the International Space Station, which is currently planned for the early 2030s. Proposals are due by early December, with contracts set to be awarded in spring 2027. This follows a draft proposal issued back in July. Several companies are already designing or building commercial space stations that could potentially replace the ISS. [Source: NASA]

Other notes

• During the final day of the International Aeronautical Congress in Antalya, Turkey the convention space was opened to the public. [Source: IAF]
• Voyager Technologies are retiring the Astrobotic brand name following their acquisition of the company. Missions like the upcoming Griffin-1 Moon lander will now be carried out under the Voyager brand. [Source: Astrobotic]

UPDATE: The US Air Force launched a Minotaur I missile that reached space on this day. See 13th October 2026 for details.

Spaceflight Daily Report, Thursday 8th October 2026

Crew-12 splashdown. Image credit: NASA/Keegan Barber.

Splashdown of Crew-12

The SpaceX Crew-12 mission de-orbited and splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean at 1534 UTC, following their undocking from the International Space Station yesterday. Crew Dragon Freedom returned to Earth with its four crew; American NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, French ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Russian Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. This completes their eight month mission to the station as part of Expeditions 74 and 75. There are now ten people in space; three Americans, three Russians, and one Canadian aboard the ISS, and three Chinese aboard Tiangong. [Source: NASA]

VSS Unity Glide Flight

Virgin Galactic carried out a low altitude glide flight of their SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity today, to provide their pilots with more practice ahead of the first glide tests of their new Delta-class SpaceShip, which are meant to be starting soon. This was overall the 35th flight of Unity. [Source: Virgin Galactic]

Other notes

• TESS reaches 1000 confirmed exoplanets. [Source: NASA]
• American Airlines to equip passenger fleet with Starlink terminals. [Source: American Airlines]
• Starship Flights 15 and 16 pushed back to at least 8th November and 10th December respectively. [Source: SpaceNotices]
• Blue Origin announces new factory in Texas. [Source: Blue Origin]

Spaceflight Daily Report, Wednesday 7th October 2026

Nuri launches from Naro Space Center. Image credit: KARI.

Launch of Nuri Rideshare

The Korean Advanced Research Institute (KARI) launched a Nuri (KSLV-2) rocket from the Naro Space Center in South Korea at 0325 UTC, or 1225 local time (KST). The primary payloads were NeonSat-2 to 6, a batch of five Sun-synchronous Earth observation satellites for the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). Additionally, the rocket delivered ten rideshare payloads. One of them, Quarternion's PERSAT-02, failed to deploy, but the other nine were successfully released into orbit. A list of all the successfully deployed payloads is available beneath the "read more" break. This was the 5th flight of Nuri, and South Korea's first orbital launch of 2026. [Source: The Korea Herald]

Departure of Crew-12

Crew Dragon Freedom, carrying the crew of the SpaceX Crew-12 mission, undocked from the International Space Station at 1205 UTC after a stay of eight months. Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot, and Andrey Fedyaev are expected to re-enter tomorrow and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at approximately 1534 UTC. Their departure brings the population of the station from ten down to its regular seven. [Source: NASA]

Artemis II Preliminary Science Report

NASA have released to the public all the remaining science data from the Artemis II flyby of the Moon. The 800 gigabyte release includes 11,000 photographs and 8.5 hours of crew audio. [Source: NASA]

Spaceflight Daily Report, Tuesday 6th October 2026

French President Emmanuel Macron observes the M51 launch.

Test Fire of M51.3 Missile

The French Navy launched an M51.3 missile from the submarine Le Vigilant off the coast of Finistère in France this morning. This was a test fire of the newly upgraded missile, built by ArianeGroup, and it was not carrying a payload. It entered a suborbital trajectory and likely achieved a maximum altitude of around 2000km before re-entering and splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean. [Source: DefenseNews]

Further Delay to Tranche 1 Transport Layer A

SpaceX have announced that the Tranche 1 Transport Layer A mission for the United States Space Force, originally scheduled to launch yesterday and rescheduled to today following a pad abort, has now been delayed further to Thursday. [Source: SpaceX]

International Space Station Activities

Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina spent today setting up hardware to test the controller for Teledroid, a new robot that will operate outside the station. Anil Menon carried out exercise research. The crew of the SpaceX Crew-12 mission (Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot, and Andrey Fedyaev) finalised preparations for their departure from the station tomorrow, and are scheduled to re-enter and splashdown in the Pacific early on Thursday. Meanwhile the recently arrived Crew-13 have begun their research duties. Jessica Watkins performed research into blood clots, Luke Delaney performed research into sleep and stress, Joshua Kutryk underwent an ultrasound scan administered by Adenot, and Sergey Teteryatnikov performed research into the respiratory system. [Source: NASA]

(Missed) Launch of MAPHEUS-17

A suborbital spaceflight occurred on 1st October 2026 but was missed in that day's report. The German Aerospace Centre (DLR) launched an RK-IM sounding rocket from Esrange in Sweden at 0651 UTC, or 0851 local time (CEST). This carried the MAPHEUS-17 mission, a collection of small scientific payloads, to an altitude of 291km. The RK-IM consists of a Red Kite first stage and an Improved Malemute second stage. [Source: SSC Space]

Spaceflight Daily Report, Monday 5th October 2026

The IAC 2026 opening ceremony. Image credit: IAC2026.

Scrub of Tranche 1 Transport Layer A

SpaceX were scheduled to launch a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg in California carrying the Tranche 1 Transport Layer A mission today, but the flight was aborted by the rocket's computer shortly before ignition. There will be another launch attempt tomorrow. [Source: SpaceX]

International Space Station Activities

Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot, and Andrey Fedyaev continued preparations for their departure from the International Space Station on Wednesday. Also departing later this week is the Cygnus NG-24 cargo resupply mission; Hathaway and Anil Menon spent some of today loading it with obsolete hardware and other waste ahead of its re-entry, during which it will be destroyed. Joshua Kutryk studied procedures for the arrival of the following cargo resupply, SpaceX's Cargo Dragon CRS-35 mission. [Source: NASA]

International Astronautical Congress

The 2026 International Astronautical Congress has begun in Antalya, Turkey. The week-long event is being attended by organisations from across the world, and a handful of announcements are expected. China's focus was expanding international cooperation in their crewed and lunar endeavours. The European Space Agency is focused on maintaining access to space for its research and astronauts following the scheduled decommissioning of the ISS. The ESA delegation also appeared to confirm that Artemis III is now aiming to launch in late 2027 rather than mid 2027. [Source: Jeff Foust]

Spaceflight Daily Report, Sunday 4th October 2026

The ISS change of command ceremony. Image credit: NASA.

International Space Station Activities

Today, Jessica Meir handed command of the International Space Station over to Pyotr Dubrov, who will remain in command until the conclusion of Expedition 75. Meir and the rest of Crew-12 are scheduled to depart the station and return to Earth on Wednesday. [Source: NASA]

Tiangong Activities

CMSA released their weekly video on the activities of the taikonauts aboard the Tiangong space station. Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan, and Lai Ka-Ying performed metabolism research, took cognitive assessments in different lighting conditions, installed a new module and performed maintenance in the research cabinets, serviced the life support systems, and took medical examinations to monitor how their bodies are adapting to zero-G. [Source: CMSA]

Spaceflight Daily Report, Saturday 3rd October 2026

Jessica Meir records the view from her temporary quarters aboard Crew Dragon Freedom.

Crew-12 Departure Scheduled

The crew of the SpaceX Crew-12 mission (Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot, and Andrey Fedyaev) will aim to return to Earth aboard Crew Dragon Freedom no earlier than Wednesday, 7th September, pending a review of weather conditions at the target splashdown area. Their newly arrived replacements, Crew-13, are acclimatising to life in space. [Source: NASA]

Spaceflight Daily Report, Friday 2nd October 2026

Crew-12 pose for a portrait ahead of their departure next week. Image credit: NASA/Anil Menon

International Space Station Activities

The crew of the SpaceX Crew-13 mission, having docked to the forward port of the International Space Station's Harmony module late last night, opened the hatch and joined the rest of the station's crew at 0119 UTC this morning. Jessica Watkins, Luke Delaney, Joshua Kutryk, and Sergey Teteryatnikov are expected to spend around five months aboard the station. The station's crew were off duty for most of today, as they will be working over the weekend. With the arrival of Crew-13, the preceding Crew-12 mission (Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot, and Andrey Fedyaev) will make preparations to head back to Earth, possibly as soon as Monday. The crew of the Soyuz MS-29 mission (Pyotr Dubrov, Anna Kikina, and Anil Menon) will remain on the station along with Crew-13. Meir is expected to pass command of the station to Dubrov on Sunday. [Source: NASA]

Launch of NROL-97

SpaceX launched a Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 0354 UTC, or 2354 local time (EDT). This mission was designated NROL-97, and it was carrying a classified payload for the United States National Reconnaissance Office. This was the 14th flight of the Falcon Heavy. It was the 2nd and 4th flight of side boosters B1104 and B1072, which each performed a boostback burn and returned to land at Cape Canaveral's landing zones 1 and 2. It was the first and only flight of the expendable central booster, B1106. [Source: SpaceX]

UPDATE: North Korea launched a ballistic missile that reached space on this day. See 13th October 2026 for details.

UPDATE: UARX Space's OSSIE satellite deployed three payloads into orbit on this day. See 13th October 2026 for details.

Spaceflight Daily Report, Thursday 1st October 2026

Crew-13 aboard Grace. Image credit: NASA

Launch of SpaceX Crew-13

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral in Florida at 1510 UTC, or 1110 local time (EDT). This was carrying SpaceX Crew-13, a Crew Dragon spacecraft (Grace) carrying two Americans, one Canadian, and one Russian to the International Space Station. The spacecraft docked to the forward port of the Harmony module at 2305 UTC, just eight hours after launch, which is a new record for a US spacecraft. Hatch opening will occur after midnight UTC and will be covered in tomorrow's report. This was the 692nd flight of the Falcon 9, the 2nd flight of Crew Dragon Grace, and the 3rd flight of booster B1101, which performed a boostback burn and successfully landed at Cape Canaveral's Landing Zone 40. [Source: SpaceX]

The crew will join Expedition 75, and are expected to remain on the station for around five months. The mission commander is NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins, a geologist who got her start at NASA working on various robotic Mars missions. This is her second spaceflight; she previously flew on SpaceX Crew-4 back in 2022, when she became the first Black woman to serve on a long-duration ISS mission, and as of today she is the first person to fly on two different Crew Dragon missions. The mission's pilot is NASA astronaut Luke Delaney, who became a test pilot for NASA after retiring from the Marine Corps. This is his first spaceflight. The first of the two mission specialists is Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Joshua Kutryk. He joined the CSA after a career as a test pilot for the Royal Canadian Air Force. This is also his first spaceflight. And finally, the second mission specialist is Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov. Before being selected as a cosmonaut, he worked as a submarine engineer for the Russian Navy. This is his first spaceflight as well. The three first-timers are jointly the 649th people to achieve orbit, the 744th people to fly above 100km (the FAI definition of space), and the 785th people to fly above 50mi (the US definition of space). There are now 14 people in orbit: five Americans, four Russians, three Chinese, one Canadian, and one French. There are also currently five women in orbit, matching the record first set in 2022. [Source: NASA]

Launch of Transporter-18

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg in California at 1832 UTC, or 1132 local time (PDT). This was Transporter-18, the latest SpaceX rideshare mission carrying a reported 130 payloads to Sun-synchronous orbit, including satellites for communication, Earth observation, medical manufacturing, technology demonstrations, orbital servicing, and orbital transfers. The full launch manifest can be found beneath the "read more" break. This was the 693rd flight of the Falcon 9, and the 25th flight of booster B1082, which performed a boostback burn and successfully landed at Vandenberg's Landing Zone 4. [Source: SpaceX]

UPDATE: An RK-IM suborbital spaceflight took place on this day. See 6th October 2026 for details.